Antonio Abondio (1538–1591) was an Italian sculptor, best known as a medallist and as the pioneer of the coloured wax

relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

portrait miniature A portrait miniature is a miniature portrait painting from Renaissance art, usually executed in gouache, Watercolor painting, watercolor, or Vitreous enamel, enamel. Portrait miniatures developed out of the techniques of the miniatures in illumin ...

. Born in Riva del Garda, he was trained by

Leone Leoni : Lioni Leoni ( – 22 July 1590) was an Italian sculptor of international outlook who travelled in Italy, Germany, Austria, France, Spain and the Netherlands. Leoni is regarded as the finest of the Cinquecento Medalist, medallists. He made his ...

and worked in Italy between 1552 and 1565. Thereafter he mainly worked for the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

s, with a few works made for French and Polish kings. He moved to Vienna to the court of Emperor Maximilian I and after his death in 1576 to Prague. He travelled to France, Netherlands and Germany. He died at

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

in 1591. His son Alessandro followed in his father's footsteps, also specializing in mythological and portrait reliefs, and marrying the widow of another court artist,

Hans von Aachen Hans von Aachen (1552 – 4 March 1615) was a German painter who was one of the leading representatives of Northern Mannerism. Hans von Aachen was a versatile and productive artist who worked in many genres. He was successful as a painter of p ...

Work

Thirteen of Abondio's wax portraits survive, usually made on a round black slate base, decorated with tiny pearls and precious stones. He made about sixty portrait

medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be in ...

s, with a portrait on the

obverse The obverse and reverse are the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ''obverse'' ...

and an allegory on the reverse side, some of them have silver enamelled framing. He also made the dies for the first

coin A coin is a small object, usually round and flat, used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by ...

age of

Emperor Rudolf II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg), Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–16 ...

. Initially his style in metal followed that of

, for the facade of whose house in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

(''Casa degli Omenoni'') he carved eight large atlantes in stone, but later included many other influences.

Sources

* George Francis Hill: Portrait Medals of Italian Artists of the Renaissance, London 1912, p. 72, 75 * Beket Bukovinská-Eliška Fučíková-Ivan P. Muchka: Die Kunst am Hofe Rudols II. Prag 1991, pp. 151, 155–156, 163.

External links

Two medals from the MetropolitanAbondio medal, NGA WashingtonEuropean sculpture and metalwork
a collection catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Abondio (see index) {{DEFAULTSORT:Abondio, Antonio 1538 births 1591 deaths People from Riva del Garda Italian medallists Italian goldsmiths 16th-century Italian sculptors Italian male sculptors 16th-century medallists